Cambodia formally nominated President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize after the U.S. leader threatened to halt trade deals unless the Southeast Asian nation agreed to a ceasefire with Thailand in a recent armed conflict.
In a letter dated Aug. 7 to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said Trump’s intervention in the conflict helped avert “a potentially devastating conflict” and restored peace along the two countries’ shared border. He credited Trump’s “visionary and innovative diplomacy” for the breakthrough.
Trump had used his favored bargaining tool of trade deals and tariffs to get Cambodia and Thailand to agree to the truce last month. The ceasefire came after five days of clashes that included airstrikes and artillery shelling, which left dozens